Brian Ashcraft

Reviews and reactions for Final Fantasy XIII have been mixed. Some love it. Some don't. But Final Fantasy XIII director Motomu Toriyama claims to know why Western critics might not dig the game.

"We think many reviewers are looking at Final Fantasy XIII from a western point of view," says Toriyama in a recent issue of Xbox World 360. "When you look at most Western RPGs, they just dump you in a big open world, and let you do whatever you like..." Toriyama adds that it "becomes very difficult to tell a compelling story when you're given that much freedom".

Does that mean when Western critics like Final Fantasy titles, that they are looking at the game from a Japanese point of voice? Perhaps, you know, those critics just didn't like the game? Maybe they liked other Final Fantasy titles and just felt that XIII was not for them.

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It should be noted that Japanese game magazine Famitsu pointed out that FFXIII's linear structure, too.

There is nothing wrong with a critic liking or disliking a game. Their opinion does not change the game itself, but rather, only the perception of it. The longstanding heavy reliance on review scores in video games has created this false feeling of validation.